The long-range goal for Dr. Hsu's project is to understand how Blc and Bax family members regulate cell death in various cardiovascular pathogenic pathways in order to eventually enable development of cardioprotective agents. He will use his considerable expertise to test the central hypothesis he pioneered: that Bcl-2 and Bcl-X block the pro-apoptotic function of Bax by preventing its redistribution from the cytosol to mitochondria during apoptosis, possibly through their respective mitochondrial receptors.